Heartland English School – Word of the Day

Theme: COLOUR NAMES

Words:  -ish

Pronunciation: / Iʃ/

Meaning: A suffix you can put on any colour to say that something is kind of that colour

Examples:

• He has brownish hair. It’s not quite brown. It’s kind of a blondish-brown.
• The house was yellowish-green.

Theme: COLOUR NAMES

Words:  beige

Pronunciation: / beʒ /

Meaning: a white colour that is a little bit brown

Examples:

• Some walls in the school are beige.
• I have beige shoes.

Theme: COLOUR NAMES

Words:  navy

Pronunciation: / ne-vi /

Meaning: A dark blue colour

Examples:

• School uniforms are often navy and white.
• I wore a navy dress yesterday.

Theme: COLOUR NAMES

Words:  turquoise

Pronunciation: / tεr-kuoiz /

Meaning: A blue-green colour

Examples:

• The ocean water is turquoise in many parts of the world.
• I bought turquoise pants for summer.

Theme: COLOUR NAMES

Words:  burgundy

Pronunciation: / bεr-g∂n-di /

Meaning: A deep red colour

Examples:

• A common colour for fall clothes in Canada is burgundy.
• I like your burgundy jacket!

Theme: Christmas Story Characters

Character: Scrooge

Whence It Came: Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella, “A Christmas Carol,” which has inspired dozens of movies, plays, and TV shows.

The Story: Ebenezer Scrooge is a lonely old miser, but on Christmas night he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, and because of what the ghosts show him about his life, he becomes a generous, happy man.

A Famous Quote: “Bah, Humbug!”

Theme: Christmas Story Characters

Character: Frosty the Snowman

Whence It Came: A 1950 popular song first sung by Gene Autry, and a 1969 animated TV show.

The Story: Some children put a magic hat on a snowman. It comes alive, and plays with the children until he leaves, promising to return someday.

A Famous Quote: “Frosty the Snowman was a jolly, happy soul, with a corn-cob pipe, a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal.”

Theme: Christmas Story Characters

Character: The Grinch

Whence It Came: a 1964 animated TV movie, and a 2000 movie, both from Dr. Seuss’ 1957 story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

The Story: The Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature, attempts to put an end to Christmas by stealing Christmas food, gifts, and decorations from the homes of the nearby town,Whoville, on Christmas Eve. However, Whoville’s inhabitants still celebrate the holiday, so the Grinch returns everything that he stole and is the guest of honour at the Whos’ Christmas dinner.

A Famous Quote: “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch.You really are a heel.You’re as cuddly as a cactus,You’re as charming as an eel,Mr. Grinch.You’re a bad banana with a greasy black peel.”

Theme: Christmas Story Characters

Character: The Nutcracker

Whence It Came: Tchaikovsky’s 1882 ballet, adapted from E.T.A. Hoffman’s story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.”

The Story: At Christmas, a young girl, Clara, is given a man-shaped nutcracker by a wizard. She dreams that the Nutcracker saves her from the dangerous Mouse King. The Nutcracker transforms into a prince, and he takes her to visit the Sugar Plum Fairy’s land, where delicious foods come alive and dance for Clara.

Why It’s Famous: The Nutcracker Ballet is traditionally performed at Christmas. The music is beautiful, and children love the colourful characters.

Theme: Christmas Story Characters

Character: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Whence It Came: A 1949 song, and a 1964 animated TV show, both adapted from a story by Montgomery Marks.

The Story: Rudolph is different from all the other reindeer at the North Pole, because his nose is bright red. However, his liability turns into an asset on a foggy Christmas night, because Santa Claus asks him to lead the other reindeer to deliver gifts to children all over the world.

A Famous Quote: “Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”